The ex-demon tumbled from the force of the impact, coming to rest finally in a crouched position -- hair mussed, tie crooked and suitcoat unbuttoned. Well. He rose to his feet, dusting bits of glass from his suit. That was just rude!
From her position at the bar, Liesha Kennicot lowered her beer with a pointed thud.
"Oh, good afternoon!" Legion lifted two fingers to the witch in cordial greeting. "I do so apologize about the ruckus! By the way, we have company. I just thought you might like to know."
"Legion? What in the -- "
Something large and wrinkled shouldered its way through the gap in the window. It was big, and it was mad -- barrel-chested with a narrow neck and a shock of black hair. Unmistakably a troll. The thing was twice the size of Legion, and had the muscle to solve any problem with a single swat. From the looks of it, the gentleman in Armani had already been on the sour end of that.
"Rather unfriendly company, I might add," Legion continued thoughtfully. "Best not to use the good china, I don't think. Ah, now what is the phrase? Bull in a -- "
The troll narrowed beady eyes, howled, and charged!
What's the point of being so top-heavy if you're going to have extremely small feet? Liesha wondered as she hopped off her stool and drew her wand. With one choice spell, the witch sent a concussive wave of force ripping across the bar where it slammed into the troll's already unsteady lower half. Safe to say, the blast sent the troll toppling with an almighty crash. It landed less than a foot away from Legion.
"Soo .. " the witch leveled her wand. "Who's your friend?"
"His name escapes me, but this is the fellow who has been living under the Queensboro Bridge."
"Wait, what?" Now that was unusual. City Trolls never left the place they considered home; they'd guard it jealously to the end. In fact, more than one graffiti attempt in the darker, danker areas of New York had ended in screams. "It followed you from Long Island to Wing City?"
Before the ex-demon could reply, the troll (who was still on its belly) lashed out with a massive, clammy fist and seized Legion around the middle -- nearly crushing his meticulously crafted human ribs. The troll then rolled up into a sitting position and threw the gentleman the length of the room, where he crash-landed unhappily in a tangle of booths and tables.
"YOU CHEATED!" the troll howled.
Legion was much slower, this time, in getting to his feet. "I also believe he has some sort of quarrel with me."
The witch rolled her eyes. "Evidently."
"GONNA GOBBLE YOU UP!"
The troll seemed to have a fondness for hurling things -- but it wanted to see something smash, not just get up again. Gleefully, it reached down for a nearby roundtable (lifting it though it were a plaything), tilted his arm back and let loose. Legion was ready.
Once the table started spinning, the ex-demon snapped up with his fist and split the table in two neat halves with a slice of air the width of a playing card. The troll was not too far behind, and after lowering his arm Legion threw himself to the side, ducking his head as a clumsy swing went wide, but found purchase in the bar counter.
Yeesh. Liesha watched as the troll made quick work of the bar. Legion was lucky he hadn't been reduced to toothpicks. Very well-dressed toothpicks.
"CHEATER, CHEATER! GONNA GOBBLE YOU UP GOOD!"
"Of course you are!" Legion danced back, anxious to get more distance between he and the creature. "Because you are a big, powerful troll! Just look how much larger you are since the last time I saw you!"
"LARGER, YES-YES! AND STRONGER, TOO!"
"How many people have you eaten since then?"
"LOTS!"
Legion had stalled for enough time to collect his head. He raised his fists, summoned two spheres of flame, and loosed the moff. One, two -- the orbs sizzled across the room, and struck home with unforgiving accuracy.
It took a second for the troll to realize what was happening to him. He stared at his skin going up in flames before the pain really registered. By then, Liesha had followed the ex-demon's lead and turned her wand on the alcohol racks. Three bottles of tequila flew across the room.
Legion cut away at once when he saw the things tumbling end-over-end. Two smashed on the ground at the troll's woefully tiny feet, another hit the creature in the stomach and bounced back, rolling safely away without breaking open. What alcohol there was caught on the flames, and with a whoosh sound, there was soon a flaming, stamping, crying troll in the middle of Gambit's Bar.
The stench was something Liesha had expected, but as the burst subsided, it hit her full force. Shit. Burning flesh was bad enough, but troll-skin was a completely different story.
And so the troll moaned, acrid smell of its own flesh filling the air. It should have died, fallen over, smoldered away in the most graphic way possible by now -- but there it stood. Legion realized belatedly what was going on. Before their very eyes, the mottled and twisted flesh was healing itself as fast as it was burning away.
They were torturing a creature that would never die, never have an end to its pain.
"YOU CHEAAAAA .. "
At last, the beast collapsed. It no longer moaned, as the fire had eaten away at its lungs (spellfire, it seemed, was particularly more vengeful when it came in contact with alcohol) and Liesha raised her wand no doubt to finish the creature off. Except, it couldn't be finished off. No. Legion unclenched his fist, then swept up with the palm. A 'blunt' gust of air rocketed into Liesha's side, throwing off her aim. The curse flew wide.
Liesha's eyes were watering from the smell, added to the burst of wind -- she coughed, ducked down. "Legion! What are you doing?"
"Don't attack! It'll only suffer more!"
The gentleman's palm cupped slightly, and he swept his arm low. A gurgling sound could be heard behind them as the ex-demon wrenched water from the kitchen pipes in a brutal, yet efficient way. The waterweaving move ended with a jerk of the elbow, and about four gallons of free-floating water slammed into the poor creature's chest.
Smoke, steam, peeling flesh. Now that the relentless assaults had faded, the troll flopped back dully, rasping, gasping. It's lungs had sealed up again, and the bubbling, pink flesh scabbed over, and began to heal. Liesha stared. She knew that process. It was like what happened to her own body. She lowered her wand.
"How did you get here?"
And so Legion charged the troll, fists flaming again. It whimpered as he crossed the wet ground, gave a half-roar, thought better of it and just scrambled back. It was still hurting. The wounds were still healing. Legion continued with his questions.
"Who brought you here?"
Liesha watched, tense. She knew it was unlikely for a City Troll to leave its dwelling, but now that she thought about it -- it was more than just unlikely. Added to the fact that the troll could regenerate itself, and things were starting to feel oddly orchestrated. There's no way a City Troll would wind up in Wing City without outside help.
For its part, the troll just looked tired. He sat in the charred remains of himself, and most of Gambit's furniture.
"You .. " he rasped (much quieter now), eyes swollen and crusting, "cheated!"
"How did I cheat?" Legion kept on. The flame on his fist grew, though at this point he wouldn't dare plunge it into the troll's belly. "Who told you that you were playing a game in the first place? Who gave you the power to come here?"
The troll just whimpered. Legion stepped back, and let the fire fade away.
"It seems," the gentleman in Armani turned back to Liesha, "that we have a mystery on our hands."
Mystery, huh? Witch and ex-demon traded glances. No ..
They knew.
